Head retract assembly for disk drive

ABSTRACT

A disk drive has a frame for receiving and retaining a disk cartridge which includes a disk therein, such disk being rotatable about a first axis perpendicular to the frame and cartridge. An actuator is mounted to the frame and is movable a first lesser amount from a first position to a second position and a second greater amount from the first position to a third position. A retract/eject lever is also mounted to the frame, is rotatable on an axis parallel to the first axis by the actuator, and is biased to a resting position. The actuator upon being moved to the second position rotates the retract/eject lever into a head-retracting position. The actuator upon being moved to the third position rotates the retract/eject lever to the head-retracting position and then to a cartridge-ejecting position. A head assembly is mounted to the frame and is movable toward and away from the retained disk cartridge and the disk therein for reading data from/writing data to such disk. A head retracting assembly is mounted to the frame for retracting the head assembly away from the retained disk cartridge when the retract/eject lever is rotated to the second position. A cartridge transport assembly is mounted to the frame for ejecting the retained cartridge when the retract/eject lever is rotated to the third position.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and filed concurrently with U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/417,646, entitled “CARTRIDGE RETENTIONAND EJECTION ASSEMBLY FOR DISK DRIVE”; U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/417,734, entitled “DISK MOTOR ACTUATION ASSEMBLY FOR DISK DRIVE”; andU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/418,401, entitled “COMMONLY ACTUATEDHEAD RETRACT ASSEMBLY AND CARTRIDGE TRANSPORT ASSEMBLY FOR DISK DRIVE”,each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cartridge transport assembly in adisk drive for receiving a cartridge thereinto, retaining the receivedcartridge, and ejecting the retained cartridge therefrom, and also to ahead retracting assembly for ensuring that a disk drive read/write headis retracted prior to such cartridge ejection. More particularly, thepresent invention relates to such assemblies that operate under thedirection of a single actuator, where the assemblies and the actuatorare relatively inexpensive.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A disk drive for receiving a removable disk cartridge is known. Examplesof such a disk drive include a conventional 3.5 inch ‘floppy’ diskdrive, a “ZIP” disk drive as developed and marketed by IOMEGACorporation of Roy, Utah, and the like. Such a disk drive is typicallycoupled to a processor or the like, and facilitates an exchange ofinformation between the processor and a disk contained within the diskcartridge. The disk and the disk drive may be magnetically or opticallybased, for example.

The disk cartridge typically includes an outer casing or shell thathouses the aforementioned disk therein. The disk is mounted on a hub andcan rotate freely within the cartridge. Typically, the disk driveincludes a motor which engages the hub of the disk and applies arotating force to such hub. The outer shell has an aperture at an edgethereof (at least in the case of a “ZIP” disk as developed and marketedby IOMEGA Corporation of Roy, Utah for use in connection with theaforementioned “ZIP” disk drive), and the disk drive includes at leastone read/write head that is brought into close proximity to the disk inthe disk cartridge by way of the aperture for purposes of reading datafrom the disk and/or writing data to the disk. A shutter may be providedto cover the aperture when the disk cartridge is removed from the diskdrive. Such disk drive may include a shutter opening feature forautomatically opening the shutter upon inserting the disk cartridge intothe disk drive.

In a relatively sophisticated drive such as the aforementioned “ZIP”disk drive, it is desirable to include an electronically actuatable diskcartridge ejection feature. Accordingly, ejection of the disk cartridgemerely requires an appropriate electronic command, originating eitherfrom the processor coupled to the disk drive or from the disk driveitself. Of course, prior to disk cartridge ejection, the read/writehead(s) of the disk drive are retracted from the disk inside the diskcartridge to a retracted position where ejection of the disk cartridgewill not harm or destroy the sensitive head(s).

In the case of the aforementioned “ZIP” disk drive, one assembly isprovided for receiving the disk cartridge, retaining the receivedcartridge, and ejecting the retained disk cartridge, and anotherassembly is provided for retracting the read/write head(s) prior to diskcartridge ejection, where both assemblies are actuated by a singleactuation unit. However, a current version of such actuation unit is arather complicated affair having multiple cogs, gears, worms, levers,and the like, and consequently is relatively expensive to manufacture.

A need exists, then, for an actuation unit that is simpler and that istherefore relatively inexpensive to manufacture. Moreover, a need existsfor corresponding assemblies that are compatible with such a simpleractuation unit, where such assemblies are also simple and thereforerelatively inexpensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention, the aforementioned need is satisfied by a diskdrive that has a frame for receiving and retaining a generally planardisk cartridge therein. The cartridge moves along a first line withinthe frame and includes a disk therein. The disk within the retainedcartridge is rotatable about a first axis generally perpendicular to theframe and cartridge.

A selectively actuatable actuator is mounted to the frame, and ismovable a first amount from a first position to a second position andalso is movable a second amount greater than the first amount from thefirst position to a third position. A retract/eject lever is alsomounted to the frame, is rotatable on an axis generally parallel to thefirst axis between a cartridge-receiving/-retaining and guide pinretaining position, a head-retracting position, and a cartridge-ejectingposition, and is biased to the cartridge-receiving/-retaining and guidepin retaining position.

The actuator upon being moved the first amount from the first positionto the second position contacts the retract/eject lever and therebyrotates the retract/eject lever into the head-retracting position. Theactuator upon being moved the second amount from the first position tothe third position contacts the retract/eject lever and thereby rotatesthe retract/eject lever to the head-retracting position, and furtherrotates the retract eject lever to the cartridge-ejecting position.

A read/write head assembly is mounted to the frame and is generallymovable toward and away from the retained disk cartridge and the disktherein for reading data from/writing data to such disk. A headretracting assembly is mounted to the frame for retracting the headassembly away from the retained disk cartridge. The head retractingassembly is coupled to the retract/eject lever and retracts the headassembly when the retract/eject lever is rotated to the second position.

A cartridge transport assembly is mounted to the frame for receiving thecartridge into the frame, retaining the received cartridge, and ejectingthe retained cartridge. The cartridge transport assembly is coupled tothe retract/eject lever and ejects the retained cartridge when theretract/eject lever is rotated to the third position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description ofpreferred embodiments of the present invention, will be betterunderstood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For thepurpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawingsembodiments which are presently preferred. As should be understood,however, the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements andinstrumentalities shown. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a disk drive in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention, and shows the disk drive receivinga disk cartridge therein;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the disk drive of FIG. 1, and shows thedisk drive retaining the received disk cartridge;

FIG. 3 is a partial diagrammatic view of the disk drive of FIG. 1, andshows the disk drive after the kicker kicks the linkage from the firstposition to the second position;

FIG. 4 is a partial diagrammatic view of the disk drive of FIG. 1, andshows the disk drive after the head assembly moves the linkage from thesecond position to the third position where the linkage is retained bythe retract/eject lever;

FIG. 5 is a partial diagrammatic view of the disk drive of FIG. 1, andshows the disk drive after the retract/eject lever releases the retainedlinkage and the linkage returns to the first position;

FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 4A, and 5A are respectively cross-sectionalviews taken along the line 1A—1A of FIG. 1, 1B—1B of FIG. 1, 2A—2A ofFIG. 2, 2B—2B of FIG. 2, 3A—3A of FIG. 3, 4A—4A of FIG. 4, and 5A—5A ofFIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the disk drive of FIG. 1, and shows thedisk drive as the retract/eject lever rotates the cam and the rotatedcam begins to allow the drag link to move and release the cartridgeretention pin from the disk cartridge;

FIG. 6A is a diagrammatic view of a portion of the disk drive of FIG. 1,and shows the fully rotated cam allowing the drag link to move andrelease the cartridge retention pin from the disk cartridge;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the disk drive of FIG. 1, and shows thedisk drive after the drag link further moves and ejects the retaineddisk cartridge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Certain terminology may be used in the following description forconvenience only and is not considered to be limiting. The words “left”,“right”, “upper”, and “lower” designate directions in the drawings towhich reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” arefurther directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometriccenter of the referenced object. The terminology includes the wordsabove specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similarimport.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-7, wherein like numerals are used to indicatelike elements throughout, a disk drive 10 is shown in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention. As seen in FIG. 1, the diskdrive 10 has a frame 12 for receiving and retaining a generally planardisk cartridge 14 therein. The frame 12 and the cartridge 14 may be ofany particular complementary design without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention. For example, the frame may bedesigned to receive and retain a conventional 3.5 inch ‘floppy’ disk, a“ZIP” disk as developed and marketed by IOMEGA Corporation of Roy, Utah,or the like. In any event, the cartridge 14 when received into the frame12 moves along a first line L within the frame 12.

As was discussed above, the cartridge 14 includes a disk 16 therein,where the disk 16 is employed to store information thereon in a digitalform or otherwise. As, should be understood, the disk 16 within theretained cartridge 14 is to be rotated about a first axis generallyperpendicular to the frame 12 and cartridge 14. The disk 16 and the diskdrive 10 may be magnetically based, optically based, or otherwise basedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Inthe case of the aforementioned “ZIP” disk and drive, information isstored by the disk drive 10 onto the disk 16 in a magnetic form.

Importantly, in the present invention, a selectively actuatable actuator18 is mounted to the frame 12, and is movable a first amount from afirst position to a second position (FIGS. 3, 5), and also is movable asecond amount greater than the first amount from the first position to athird position (FIG. 6). As will be better understood from thediscussion below, the movement of the first amount the first position tothe second position may be referred to as a ‘soft pick’ and is employedin connection with a head-retract assembly 20 (FIGS. 3-5), and themovement of the second amount from the first position to the thirdposition may be referred to as a ‘hard pick’ and is employed inconnection with a cartridge-transport assembly 22 (FIGS. 1, 2, 6, 7). Asshould now be appreciated, performance of a hard pick by the actuator 18by its nature also includes performance of a soft pick.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the actuator 18 is asolenoid having a plunger, where the plunger is generally linearlymovable between a range of positions between a fully plunged positionand a fully extended position. As shown in the drawings, the firstposition corresponds to the fully extended position, the third positioncorresponds to the fully plunged position, and the second position ismidway therebetween.

Preferably, the plunger of the solenoid 18 is biased to the fullyextended position, and plunges an increasing depth corresponding to anincreasing voltage and/or current input to the solenoid. Since solenoidsand the operation thereof is generally known, further discussion in thisregard is deemed unnecessary. Of course, the solenoid 18 may beconfigured alternately, and actuators 18 other than a solenoid maybeemployed, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. For example, the solenoid 18 may be biased to the fullyplunged position, or a rotary motor may be employed if appropriatelyconfigured.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the disk drive 10 of the present inventionhas a retract/eject lever 24 mounted to the frame 12, where theretract/eject lever 24 may have a contacting pin 26 or the like mountedthereto. The retract/eject lever 24 is rotatable on an axis generallyparallel to the first axis between:

a cartridge-receiving/-retaining and guide pin retaining position(FIG. 1) corresponding to the first position of the actuator 18,

a head retracting position (FIG. 5) corresponding to the second positionof the actuator 18, and

a cartridge-ejecting position (FIG. 6) corresponding to the thirdposition of the actuator 18, where it should be appreciated that theactuator 18 upon being moved through the first, second, and thirdpositions may contact the contacting pin 26 on the retract/eject lever24 and thereby rotates the retract/eject lever 24 into the correspondingpositions. Alternatively, such actuator 18 may contact the lever 24directly (not shown). As seen, the retract/eject lever 24 is biased tothe cartridge-receiving/-retaining and guide pin retaining position ofFIG. 1 by a biasing device such as a spring, although other biasingdevices may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

As should be understood, although the retract/eject lever 24 is in factshown as a lever, other mechanical devices may be substituted withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention ifappropriately configured. Moreover, the combination of the actuator 18and the lever 24 may be substituted by another actuating-and-applyingstructure without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention, again if appropriately configured.

Referring to FIGS. 3A, 4A, and 5A, a read/write head assembly 28 ismounted to the frame 12 and is generally movable toward and away fromthe retained disk cartridge 14 (FIG. 4) and the disk 16 therein by wayof appropriate means (not shown) for reading data from/writing data tosuch disk 16. The structure and operation of such head assembly 28 aregenerally known and therefore need not be discussed herein in anydetail. As shown, the head assembly 28 moves generally linearly in agenerally radial manner with respect to the disk 16, although the headassembly may instead move non-linearly and/or non-radially withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The cartridge transport assembly 22 is mounted to the frame 12 of thedisk drive 10 to receive the cartridge 14 into the frame 12 (FIG. 1),retain the received cartridge 14 (FIG. 2), and eject the retainedcartridge 14 (FIGS. 6, 6A, 7) at an appropriate time. As was discussedabove, the cartridge transport assembly 22 is coupled to theretract/eject lever 24, and ejects the retained cartridge 14 when theactuator 18 performs a hard pick (i.e., is moved to the third position),thereby rotating the retract/eject lever 24 to the cartridge-ejectingposition.

In particular, the cartridge transport assembly 22 includes a drag link30 which is mounted to the frame 12, and which is generally linearlymovable along the first line L generally parallel to movement of thecartridge 14 during reception and ejection thereof (FIGS. 1, 6, 6A, and7). As shown, the drag link 30 moves between acartridge-receiving/-ejecting position (FIGS. 1, 7) and acartridge-retaining position (FIGS. 2-5). The drag link 30 is biased tothe cartridge-receiving/-ejecting position by a biasing device such as aspring, although other biasing devices may be employed without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In one embodiment of the present invention, and as particularly seen inFIGS. 1 and 2, one of the drag link 30 and the frame 12 includes a pairof guide slots 30 a each extending generally along the first line L. Asseen, each guide slot 30 a receives a guide pin 12 a fixedly mounted tothe other of the drag link 30 and the frame 12. Accordingly, the guideslots 30 a and guide pins 12 a restrict linear movement of the drag link30 within a pre-defined range. As shown, the drag link 30 includes thepair of guide slots 30 a, and the guide pins 12 a are fixedly mounted tothe frame 12.

A cam 32 is mounted to the distal end of the drag link 30 and thus moveswith the drag link 30. As shown, the cam 32 is rotatable on an axisgenerally parallel to the first axis between acartridge-receiving/-retaining position (FIGS. 1-5) and acartridge-ejecting position (FIG. 6A). The cam 32 is biased to thecartridge-receiving/-retaining position by a biasing device such as aspring, although other biasing devices may be employed without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The cam 32 has a reception contact surface 32 a at an edge thereofrelatively farther from the axis thereof and an ejection contact surface32 b at an edge thereof relatively closer to the axis thereof. As seen,the cartridge initially contacts the reception contact surface 32 aduring reception thereof (FIG. 1), and remains in contact with suchreception contact surface 32 a during retention thereof (FIGS. 2-5).During ejection of the cartridge 14, the cam 32 is rotated such that theejection contact surface 32 b moves (FIG. 6) into contact with suchcartridge 14 (FIG. 6A).

A cartridge retention assembly 34 is mounted to the frame 12, andincludes a cartridge retention pin 34 a mounted thereto for cooperatingwith a retention aperture 14 a in the cartridge 14 to retain thereceived cartridge 14. The cartridge retention pin 34 a is movable in aline generally parallel to the first axis between acartridge-receiving/-ejecting position (FIG. 1A) and acartridge-retaining position (FIG. 2A). Although the cartridge retentionpin 34 a as shown cooperates with the retention aperture 14 a in thecartridge 14, alternate devices may be employed in the cartridgeretention assembly 34 without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. For example, the assembly 34 may include a blockingdevice moved in front of the proximal edge of the cartridge 14 toprevent the cartridge 14 from ejecting from the disk drive 10.

As shown, a ramp 36 is mounted to one of the drag link 30 and thecartridge retention assembly 34, and has a cartridge-receiving/-ejectinglevel 36 a (FIGS. 1, 1A) and a cartridge-retaining level 36 b (FIGS. 2,2A) with respect to a line generally parallel to the first axis.Correspondingly, a ramp-engaging device 38 is mounted to the other ofthe drag link 30 and the cartridge retention assembly 34, and is incooperative contact with the ramp 36 such that the ramp-engaging device38 contacts the cartridge-receiving/-ejecting level 36 a when the draglink 30 is in the cartridge-receiving/-ejecting position (FIGS. 1, 1A),and contacts the cartridge-retaining level 36 b when the drag link 30 isin the cartridge-retaining position (FIGS. 2, 2A). As seen in thedrawings, the ramp 36 is mounted to the drag link 30 and theramp-engaging device 38 is mounted to the cartridge retention assembly34.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the ramp-engaging device 38is a pin that follows along one side of the ramp 36. In such situation,the cartridge retention assembly and pin 34, 34 a should be biased toeither the cartridge-retaining position or thecartridge-receiving/-ejecting position, as appropriate. In anotherembodiment, the ramp-engaging device 38 includes a first pin engaging atop side of the ramp and a second, generally opposing pin engaging abottom, opposing side of the ramp, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A. In suchsituation, biasing is likely not necessary for the cartridge retentionassembly and pin 34, 34 a.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 1 and 1A, now, it is seen that duringreception of the cartridge 14, the drag link 30 is at thecartridge-receiving/-ejecting position, the cam 32 is at thecartridge-receiving/-retaining position such that the cartridgeinitially contacts the reception contact surface 32 a, and theramp-engaging device 38 contacts the ramp 36 at thecartridge-receiving/-ejecting level 36 a thereof such that the cartridgeretention pin 34 a is in the cartridge-receiving/-ejecting position.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 2A, it is seen that during retention of thecartridge 14, the cartridge 14 contacts the reception contact surface 32a of the cam 32 and moves, by way of the contact with the cam 32, thedrag link 30 to the cartridge retaining position, thereby moving theramp 36 with respect to the ramp-engaging device 38 such that theramp-engaging device 38 contacts the ramp 36 at the cartridge-retaininglevel 36 b, thereby moving the cartridge retention pin 34 a into thecartridge-retaining position within the cartridge aperture 14 a, therebyretaining the cartridge 14 within the disk drive 10. In addition, movingthe cartridge retention pin 34 a into the cartridge-retaining positionwithin the cartridge aperture 14 a, holds the drag link 30 in thecartridge-retaining position and prevents the drag link 30 from ejectingthe cartridge 14 under the biasing force of such drag link 30 (FIG. 7).

Referring now to FIGS. 6, 6A, and 7, it is seen that during ejection ofthe cartridge 14, the cam 32 is rotated (FIG. 6) to thecartridge-ejecting position (FIG. 6A) wherein the cartridge 14 is movedinto contact with the ejection contact surface 32 b. In particular, andas was discussed above, the actuator 18 performs a hard pick, therebyrotating the retract/eject lever 24 to the cartridge-ejecting position.The retract/eject lever 24 upon rotation into the cartridge-ejectingposition may contact the cam 32 directly, as is shown, thereby rotatingthe cam 32 into the cartridge-ejecting position. Alternatively, the cam32 may have a pin or the like mounted thereto (not shown) such that theretract/eject lever 24 upon rotation into the cartridge-ejectingposition contacts the pin on the cam 32 and thereafter rotates the cam32 into the cartridge-ejecting position.

As may be appreciated, and as seen in FIGS. 6A and 7, in thecartridge-ejecting position of the cam 32, such cam 32 allows the draglink 30 to move toward the cartridge-receiving/-ejecting position, wheresuch movement occurs because the ejection contact surface 32 b is closerto the axis of the cam 32 than the reception contact surface 32 a. Inparticular, such drag link 30 moves a distance equal to the differencebetween the radius of the reception contact surface 32 a and the radiusof the ejection contact surface 32 b.

As should be understood, such distance is relatively short but is enoughto allow the ramp 36 to move with respect to the ramp-engaging device 38such that the ramp-engaging device 38 contacts the ramp 36 at thecartridge-receiving/-ejecting level 36 a. Accordingly, the cartridgeretention pin 34 a is moved into the cartridge-receiving/-ejectingposition (see FIG. 1A). As a result, the cartridge retention pin 34 a nolonger retains the cartridge 14, thus allowing the drag link 30 tocontinue ejecting the cartridge 14 under the biasing force of such draglink 30 (FIG. 7).

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, among others, the disk drive 10 alsoincludes a disk motor 40 mounted to the frame 12 for rotating the disk16 within the disk cartridge 14. Typically, the disk 16 includes a hub16 a, and the motor 40 and hub 16 a are brought into contact to allowthe motor 16 a to impart rotational force to such hub 16 a and the disk16. Operation of the motor 40, the design of the motor 40 and the hub 16a, and the interaction therebetween are generally known and thereforeneed not be described herein in any further detail.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the motor 40 is moved intocontact with the disk 16 (rather than the disk 16 being moved intocontact with motor 40) in a direction generally perpendicular to theplane of such disk 16. Moreover, such movement of such motor 40 isactuated as part of retaining the disk cartridge 14 in the frame 12(FIG. 2). Accordingly, the motor 40 is movable between a disk-engagementposition (FIG. 1B) and a disk-separation position (FIG. 2B). Such motor40 is biased to the disk-engagement position by a biasing device such asa spring, although other biasing devices may be employed withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

As shown, the disk motor 40 is helically mounted to the frame, and thusmoves in a helical manner about the first axis between thedisk-engagement position and the disk-separation position and intocontact with the disk 16 to rotate such disk 16. That is to say,rotation of the body of the motor 40 about the first axis achievesdisplacement of such motor 40 along such first axis. The motor 40 may beany appropriate motor and the helical mount may be any appropriatehelical mount without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention as long as such motor 40 is suitable for the purpose ofrotating the disk 16 at a suitable speed and such helical mount issuitable for the purpose of achieving contact between the motor 40 andthe disk 16 in a given amount of rotation. Disk motors and helicalmounts are generally known and therefore need not be further describedherein in detail.

In one embodiment of the present invention, and as shown, a motorrelease lever pin 30 b is mounted to the drag link 30, and a motorrelease lever 42 is mounted to the frame 12. The motor release lever 42is rotatable on an axis generally parallel to the first axis between acartridge-receiving/-ejecting position (FIGS. 1, 7) and acartridge-retaining position (FIGS. 2-5). Such motor release lever 42may be biased to the cartridge-receiving/-ejecting position by a biasingdevice such as a spring, although other biasing devices (if used) may beemployed without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

As seen, the motor release lever 42 has a shaped slot 42 a that receivesthe motor release lever pin 30 b, whereby the shaped slot 42 a and themotor release lever pin 30 b co-act to rotate the motor release lever 42according to the liner movement of the drag link 30. At the same time,such shaped slot 42 a and such motor release lever pin 30 b co-act torestrict rotational movement of the motor release lever 42 within apre-defined range. Importantly, the motor release lever 42 has acatching surface 42 b and the motor 40 has a latching surface 40 a (bestseen in FIG. 2), and the catching surface 42 b of the motor releaselever 42 catches the latching surface 40 a of the motor 40 when themotor 40 a is in the disk-separation position (FIGS. 1, 7).

In one embodiment of the present invention, the motor 40 has a motorrelease arm 40 b mounted thereto, where such motor release arm 40 bextends generally radially from the motor 40 and has the latchingsurface 42 a (FIG. 2) of the motor thereon. In addition, a motor releasearm pin 30 c is mounted to the drag link 30, and is in communicationwith the motor release arm 40 b during movement of the drag link 30 fromthe cartridge-retaining position to the cartridge-receiving/-ejectingposition to move the motor release arm 40 b and motor 40 into thedisk-separation position.

In operation, and referring to FIGS. 1 and 1B, now, when the drag link30 is at the cartridge-receiving/-ejecting position, the motor releaselever pin 30 b is positioned within the shaped slot 42 a of the motorrelease lever 42 such that the motor release lever 42 is in thecartridge-receiving/-ejecting position. Accordingly, the latchingsurface 40 a of the motor release arm 40 b of the motor 40 is caught bythe catching surface 42 b of the motor release lever 42, and the motor40 is thereby held in the disk-separation position. In suchdisk-separation position, the disk cartridge 16 is freely receivablewithin the frame 12 of the disk drive 10 without interference orblockage by such motor 40.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 2B, it is seen that during retention of thecartridge 14, the movement of the drag link 30 from thecartridge-receiving/-ejecting position to the cartridge retainingposition causes the motor release lever pin 30 b on such drag link 30 tomove within the shaped slot 42 a of the motor release lever 42 such thatthe motor release lever 42 moves from the cartridge-receiving/-ejectingposition to the cartridge-retaining position. In so doing, the catchingsurface 42 b of the motor release lever releases the latching surface 40a of the motor 40, and allows the motor 40 to helically move from thedisk-separation position to the disk-engagement position under the biasof the associated biasing device. In such disk-engagement position, andas should be understood, the motor 40 engages the hub of the disk 16 inthe cartridge 14 and can rotate the hub and disk 16 (FIG. 2B).

Referring especially to FIG. 7 now, it is seen that during ejection ofthe cartridge 14, the movement of the drag link 30 from thecartridge-retaining position to the cartridge-receiving/-ejectingposition causes the motor release lever pin 30 b to move within theshaped slot 42 a of the motor release lever 42 such that the motorrelease lever 42 moves from the cartridge-retaining position to thecartridge-receiving/-ejecting position. Such movement of the drag link30 also causes the motor release arm pin 30 c mounted thereto to contactthe motor release arm 40 b and to helically move the motor release arm40 b and the motor 40 to the disk-separation position. When the motor 40is in the disk-separation position, the catching surface 42 b (FIG. 2)of the motor release lever 42 is also in position to catch the latchingsurface 40 a (FIG. 2) of the motor 40, thereby holding the motor 40 inthe disk-separation position. In such disk-separation position, the diskcartridge 16 is freely ejectable from the frame 12 of the disk drive 10without interference or blockage by such motor 40.

Turning now to the head retracting assembly 20 and FIGS. 3-5A inparticular, such assembly 20 is mounted to the frame 12 of the diskdrive 10 to retract the head assembly 28 (FIGS. 3A, 4A, 5A) away fromthe retained disk cartridge 14 (FIG. 5), for example at a time justprior to ejection of the cartridge 14. Accordingly, the retracted headassembly 28 is not in contact with the ejecting cartridge 14, and thedanger of damage to the head assembly 28 by the ejecting cartridge isminimized if not eliminated. As was discussed above, the head retractingassembly 20 is coupled to the retract/eject lever 24, and retracts thehead assembly 28 when the actuator 18 performs a soft pick (i.e., ismoved to the second position), thereby rotating the retract/eject lever24 to the head retracting position. As was also discussed above, a hardpick necessarily includes a soft pick. As a result, head retracting isalways performed just prior to cartridge ejection.

In one embodiment of the present invention, and referring for example toFIG. 3, the frame 12 defines a guiding aperture 12 b therein, and thehead retracting assembly 20 includes a guide pin 44 captured and movablewithin the guiding aperture 12 b. The guiding aperture 12 b may bedefined within a guide plate 12 c mounted to the frame 12, as seen inFIGS. 3, 4, and 5, or may be defined directly by the frame 12. As seen,the guiding aperture 12 b is generally linear and generally radiallyoriented with respect to the disk 16 within the retained disk cartridge14. Nevertheless, the guiding aperture 12 b may be non-linear and/ornon-radial without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

As shown, the guiding aperture 12 b extends generally parallel to thefirst line L (FIG. 1), although such guiding aperture 12 b may extend inother directions without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. As will be explained in more detail below, the pathof the guiding aperture 12 b and the guide pin 44 therein is intended toalign with the path of the head assembly 28 (FIGS. 3A, 4A, 5A) as suchhead assembly 28 moves toward and away from the disk 16 within the diskcartridge 14. Accordingly, the head assembly 28 is generally movablealong a line parallel to the guiding aperture 12 b toward and away fromthe retained disk cartridge 14 and disk 16 therein.

In one embodiment of the present invention, and as particularly seen inFIG. 3A, the guide pin 44 includes a first axial portion 44 a capturedand movable within the guiding aperture and a second axial portion 44 bimmediately above or below the first portion 44 a. Moreover, the headassembly 28 includes a contacting surface 28 a that moves along a pathtraced by the guide pin 44. As should be appreciated, the contactingsurface 28 a contacts the second axial portion 44 b of the guide pin 44at some point along the path when the head assembly 28 moves toward theretained disk cartridge 14. Likewise, the second axial portion 44 b ofthe guide pin 44 contacts such contacting surface 28 a at some pointalong the path when the guide pin 44 moves away from the retained diskcartridge 14. Accordingly, when the head assembly and by extension thecontacting surface 28 a is extended all the way toward the retained diskcartridge 14 (FIGS. 4, 4A), such contacting surface 28 a willnecessarily move the guide pin 44 along to a corresponding location.Likewise, when the guide pin 44 is moved all the way away from theretained cartridge 14 (FIGS. 5, 5A), such guide pin 44 will necessarilymove the contacting surface 28 a and by extension the head assembly 28along to a retracted location.

The guiding aperture 12 b as shown in the drawings is slightly off fromradial with respect to the disk 16 within the disk cartridge 14. In sucha situation, if the head assembly 28 does in fact move on a true radialwith respect to such disk 16, an offsetting structure (not shown) may beattached between the contacting surface 28 and the remainder of the headassembly to accommodate the offset of the guiding aperture 12 b from thehead assembly 28. Alternatively, the offsetting structure may extendfrom the guide pin 44 toward the head assembly 28.

As seen in FIGS. 3-5A, the guide pin 44 is coupled to a linkage 46 thatincludes first and second arms 46 a, 46 b joined at an elbow androtatable with respect to each other about an axis at the elbowgenerally parallel to the first axis. The first arm 46 a includes theguide pin 44 adjacent an end thereof opposite the elbow, and the firstarm rotates about an axis at the guide pin generally parallel to thefirst axis. The second arm 46 b includes a fixed point 46 c adjacent anend thereof opposite the elbow, where the fixed point 46 c is fixed withrespect to the frame 12 such that the second arm 46 c rotates about anaxis at the fixed point 46 c generally parallel to the first axis. Ofcourse, other types of linkage 46 maybe employed without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention, as long as such otherlinkage 46 performs the functions as described below.

As should now be apparent, the linkage 46 is generally movable within aplane generally perpendicular to the first axis and generally parallelto the retained disk cartridge, and the movement of the guide pin 44within the guiding aperture 12 c causes the arms 46 a, 46 b of thelinkage 46 to bend at the elbow. As may be perceived from FIGS. 2-5,when the linkage 46 is fully extended, the guide pin 44, the elbow andthe fixed point 46 c form a generally straight line. In one embodimentof the present invention, the fixed point 46 c of the linkage isrelatively close to the disk 16 within the retained cartridge 14, andthe guide pin 44 is relatively far from such disk 16 when the linkage 46is fully extended.

As should be understood, then, the aforementioned fully extended linkageline extends from the guiding aperture 12 b at a relatively far positionwith respect to the disk 16 to the fixed point at a relatively closedistance to the disk 16, and at an angle with respect to the generallylinear guiding aperture 12 b. The bending elbow, then, may move eithertoward or away from the guiding aperture 12 b as the linkage‘collapses’. In one embodiment of the present invention, a barrier 12 dis mounted to the frame 12 to block the linkage 46 on the side away fromthe fully extended linkage line. The barrier 12 d may be a pin, a ridge,a bar, or another blocking device. Accordingly, once the elbow crossesthe fully extended linkage line and moves a relatively short distanceaway from the guiding aperture 12 b, the linkage 46 can collapse nofurther, and the guide pin 44 at the one end of the first arm 46 a ofthe linkage is relatively far from and can not move toward the disk 16within the retained cartridge 14.

In operating the head retract assembly, the linkage 46 and the guide pin44 coupled thereto are movable between:

a first position (FIGS. 2, 5) where the elbow is on a side of the fullyextended linkage line away from the guiding aperture 12 c and thelinkage 46 abuts the barrier 12 d, and the guide pin 44 is in a lockedstate and is relatively far from the retained disk cartridge 14, and

a second position (FIG. 3) where the elbow is on a side of the fullyextended linkage line toward the guiding aperture 12 c, and the guidepin 44 is in an un-locked state and is relatively far from the retaineddisk cartridge 14, and

a third position (FIG. 4) where the elbow is on the side of the fullyextended linkage line toward the guiding aperture 12 c, and the guidepin 44 is relatively close to the retained disk cartridge 14.

As should be appreciated, the locked state of the linkage 46 and theguide pin 44 in the first position thereof prevents the head assembly 28from moving toward the retained disk cartridge, and also corresponds tothe head assembly 28 being in a retracted position wherein the headassembly 28 is clear of the disk cartridge 14. In one embodiment of thepresent invention, the linkage 46 and the guide pin 44 are biased to thefirst position by a biasing device such as a spring, although otherbiasing devices may be employed without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 3 and 3A, now, it is seen that after thedisk cartridge 14 is retained in the frame 12 and prior toreading/writing with the head assembly 28, the linkage 46 and guide pin44 are moved from the first position (FIG. 2) to the second position(FIG. 3). Such movement is achieved by a soft pick from the actuator 18and the consequent rotation of the retract/eject lever 24. As should beappreciated at this point, the soft pick rotates the retract/eject lever24 enough to cause such movement of the linkage 46 and guide pin 44, butnot so much as to rotate the cam 32 and cause an ejection of theretained cartridge 14.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a kicker 48 is mounted tothe retract/eject lever 24 in such a manner that the soft pick causesthe kicker 48 to ‘kicking’ the linkage 46 and guide pin 44 from thefirst position to the second position. As seen, the kick is delivered tothe side of the linkage 46 opposite the guiding aperture 12 b such thatthe linkage 44 moves away from the barrier 12 d and into an orientationwhere such linkage 44 may collapse. Note that in the second position ofFIG. 3, the biasing device still applies a bias to the linkage 46, butnot so much that the linkage 46 and guide pin 44 return to the firstposition.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 4 and 4A, now, it is seen that onlyafter the linkage 46 is in the second position, such linkage 46 and theguide pin 44 may be moved to the third position. Specifically, the headassembly 28 is energized in an appropriate manner to move toward theretained disk 16 and cartridge 44 such that the linkage 46 is pushed byway of the contacting surface 28 a on the head assembly 28 and thesecond portion 44 b of the guide pin 44 from the second position to thethird position. In one embodiment of the present invention, the linkage46 and the guide pin 44 are retained in the third position by a guidepin retaining device against the biasing force of the biasing deviceattached to the linkage 46.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 4A, the guide pin retaining device is theretract/eject lever 24, which has a catching surface 24 a (FIGS. 3, 5)for catching a latching surface 46 d (FIGS. 3, 5) coupled to the guidepin 44 and/or linkage 46 when the guide pin 44 and linkage 46 move intothe third position. In one embodiment of the present invention, thelatching surface 46 d is on the second arm 46 b of the linkage 46adjacent the fixed point 46 c of such second arm 46 b, and the catchingsurface 24 a of the retract/eject lever 24 catches the latching surface46 d when the retract/eject lever 24 is in the cartridge-receiving/-retaining and guide pin retaining position (FIGS. 1, 4). Of course,other guide pin/linkage retaining devices may be employed withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Once the linkage 46 is latched against its biasing force, the headassembly 28 may be moved away from the guide pin 44 to perform thenormal functions of reading data from and/or writing data to the disk 16within the cartridge 14. Importantly, and as is shown, the linkage 46and guide pin 44 in the third position do not interfere with suchread/write functions of the head assembly 28.

At some later point it is advisable to retract the head assembly 28 intoa position clear of the disk cartridge 14 and disk therein. Primarily,it is advisable to do so after reading/writing with the head assembly 28is concluded and prior to ejecting the cartridge 14, although it mayalso be advisable to do so at other times. Referring specifically toFIGS. 5 and 5A, now, it is seen that in order to perform suchretracting, a guide pin releasing device is employed to release theguide pin 44 and linkage 46 from the third position and to allow suchreleased guide pin 44 and linkage 46 to return to the first positionunder the biasing force of the biasing device coupled to the linkage 44.Thus, the head assembly 28 is moved and locked away from the diskcartridge 14 when such cartridge 14 is to be ejected, or otherwise.

As shown in FIG. 5, the guide pin releasing device is the actuator 18performing another soft pick. As should be appreciated at this point,this second soft pick rotates the retract/eject lever 24 enough todisengage the catching surface 24 a thereof from the latching surface 46d of the linkage 46, thereby releasing the linkage 46 and guide pin 44from the third position and allowing a return to the first position.Note that in contrast with the first soft pick, this second soft pickmay be and is in fact likely to be a part of a hard pick for ejectingthe disk cartridge 14. Of course, the soft pick portion of the hard pickcauses the head assembly 28 to retract prior to ejecting the retainedcartridge 14 from the frame 12.

As should now be appreciated, in returning to the first position, thelinkage 46 pushes the head assembly 28 into a retracted position by wayof contact established between the contacting surface 28 a of such headassembly 28 and the second portion 44 b of the guide pin 44 during suchreturn. The head assembly 28 is then retained in the retracted positionby virtue of the guide pin 44 being in the locked state once such guidepin 44 and linkage 46 are in the first position.

Note that as with the first soft pick, the second soft pick causes thekicker 48 to contact the linkage 46. However, in the second soft pick,such kicker should not move the linkage 46 from the first position(FIGS. 2, 5) to the second position (FIG. 3), or prevent the linkage 46from the achieving such first position. Preferably, the momentum of thelinkage during movement from the third position to the first positionduring the second soft pick is sufficient to counter the momentum of thekicker 48 during such second soft pick, thereby resiliently bending thekicker 48 back and allowing the linkage 46 to achieve the firstposition, as is particularly seen in FIG. 5.

In the present invention, a disk drive 10 includes a relatively simpleactuator 18 and lever 24 that actuate both a read/write head assembly 28and a cartridge transport assembly 22. While the present invention hasbeen described in connection with the embodiments as shown in FIGS. 1-7,it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used ormodifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments forperforming the same function of the present invention without deviatingtherefrom. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to anysingle embodiment, but rather construed in breadth and scope inaccordance with the recitation of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A disk drive comprising: a frame for receivingand retaining a generally planar disk cartridge therein, the cartridgemoving along a first line within the frame and including a diskaccessible therein, the disk within the retained cartridge beingrotatable about a first axis generally perpendicular to the first lineand the frame and cartridge, the frame defining a guiding aperturetherein; a guide pin captured and movable within the guiding aperture; alinkage including first and second arms joined at an elbow and rotatablewith respect to each other about an axis at the elbow generally parallelto the first axis, the first arm including the guide pin adjacent an endthereof opposite the elbow, the guide pin being captured and movablewithin the guiding aperture such that the first arm rotates about anaxis at the guide pin generally parallel to the first axis, and thesecond arm including a fixed point adjacent an end thereof opposite theelbow, the fixed point being fixed with respect to the frame such thatthe second arm rotates about an axis at the fixed point generallyparallel to the first axis, the linkage being generally movable within aplane generally perpendicular to the first axis and generally parallelto the retained disk cartridge, the linkage being fully extended whenthe guide pin, the elbow and the fixed point form a generally straightline, the guide pin and the linkage residing in and movable between: afirst position wherein the guide pin is in a locked state and isrelatively far from the retained disk cartridge, and wherein the elbowis on a side of the fully extended linkage line away from the guidingaperture and the guide pin is relatively far from the retained diskcartridge, a second position wherein the guide pin is in an un-lockedstate and is relatively far from the retained disk cartridge, andwherein the elbow is on a side of the fully extended linkage line towardthe guiding aperture and the guide pin is relatively far from theretained disk cartridge, and a third position wherein the guide pin isin the un-locked state and is relatively close to the retained diskcartridge, and wherein the elbow is on the side of the fully extendedlinkage line toward the guiding aperture and the guide pin is relativelyclose to the retained disk cartridge, the linkage and guide pin beingbiased to the first position, the linkage having a latching surfacecoupled thereto; a read/write head assembly mounted to the frame andgenerally movable toward and away from the retained disk cartridge andthe disk therein for reading data from/writing data to such disk, thehead assembly including a contacting surface that moves along a pathtraced by the guide pin and that contacts the guide pin at some pointalong the path when the head assembly moves toward the retained diskcartridge, the guide pin contacting the contacting surface at some pointalong the path when the guide pin moves away from the retained diskcartridge, the locked state of the guide pin in the first positionthereof preventing the head assembly from moving toward the retaineddisk cartridge; a guide pin retaining device mounted to the frame andhaving a catching surface for catching the latching surface coupled tothe guide pin when the guide pin moves into the third position and forretaining the guide pin in the third position, the guide pin retainingdevice being movable between a catching/retaining position and areleasing position and biased to the catching/retaining position; aguide pin releasing device mounted to the frame and cooperating with theguide pin retaining device to move such guide pin retaining device fromthe catching/retaining position to the releasing position to disengagethe catching surface thereof from the latching surface, therebyreleasing the guide pin from the third position prior to ejecting theretained cartridge from the frame; wherein after the disk cartridge isretained in the frame and prior to reading/writing with the headassembly, the linkage and the guide pin are moved from the firstposition to the second position, and the head assembly is moved towardthe retained disk such that the linkage and guide pin are moved from thesecond position to the third position and are retained in the thirdposition by the guide pin retaining device, and wherein afterreading/writing with the head assembly and prior to ejecting the diskcartridge from the frame, the guide pin releasing device releases thelinkage and guide pin from the third position and the linkage and guidepin return to the first position, thereby ensuring that the headassembly is moved and locked away from the to-be-ejected disk cartridge.2. The disk drive of claim 1 further comprising a guide plate mounted tothe frame, the guide plate defining the guiding aperture therein.
 3. Thedisk drive of claim 1 wherein the guiding aperture is generally linear.4. The disk drive of claim 3 wherein the guiding aperture extendsgenerally parallel to the first line.
 5. The disk drive of claim 3wherein the head assembly is generally movable along a line parallel tothe guiding aperture toward and away from the retained disk cartridge.6. The disk drive of claim 1 wherein the guide pin includes a firstaxial portion captured and movable within the guiding aperture and asecond axial portion that is contacted by and contacts the contactingsurface of the head assembly.
 7. The disk drive of claim 1 furthercomprising a linkage barrier fixed with respect to the frame andpositioned to contact the linkage when such linkage is in the firstposition, the linkage barrier restricting the linkage to prevent theelbow from moving farther away from the fully extended linkage line,thereby achieving the locking state of the guide pin by preventing theguide pin and the read/write head from moving toward the retained diskcartridge when the linkage is in the first position.
 8. The disk driveof claim 1 wherein the latching surface of the linkage is on the secondarm of such linkage adjacent the fixed point of such second arm.
 9. Thedisk drive of claim 1 further comprising a kicker mounted to the framefor kicking the linkage from the first position to the second position.10. The disk drive of claim 9 wherein the kicker is mounted and movablewith the guide pin retaining device.
 11. The disk drive of claim 1wherein the guide pin releasing device is a selectively actuatableactuator.
 12. The disk drive of claim 11 wherein the actuator is asolenoid having a plunger linearly movable between a plunged positionand an extended position.
 13. The disk drive of claim 12 wherein theguide pin retaining device is a retaining lever mounted to the frame,the retaining lever for being contacted by the plunger of the solenoidand being rotatable on an axis generally parallel to the first axisbetween the catching/retaining position and the releasing position, theplunger upon being moved into one of the plunged and the extendedposition contacting the retaining lever and thereby rotating theretaining lever into the releasing position.
 14. The disk drive of claim1 wherein the guide pin retaining device is a retaining lever mounted tothe frame, the retaining lever being rotatable on an axis generallyparallel to the first axis between the catching/retaining position andthe releasing position.